Recent posts by Dan Grubbs

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it because I haven't read every reply. However, as with many challenges we encounter in our efforts on our homesteads, farms, homes, etc., most have already been solved hundreds of years ago. Timber and log framing has been in practice thousands of years. If I were wanting to keep posts surviving for several decades, I'd look to how the Japanese and Chines have solved these problems. Japanese timber framing is astounding. Here's one relevant thread in Permies you might want to read: https://permies.com/t/40487/scribing-posts-stone I would also reach out to Jay C. Whitecloud to discuss your specific application.
I've reached the age that I find it's much better to put my self away for a few moments and look to others who have successfully solved whatever problem I'm facing and adopt what they did. Then, I can bring myself back into the picture in the execution of the idea. Way too many people who are way smarter than I am have done nearly everything already. It's silly for me to try to re-invent the wheel.

We have PEX in our home. I have to say that performance isn't an issue. Installation is. It is easier and faster. However, PLEASE resist the temptation to skimp on mounting your PEX tubing to something solid. Our PEX is the nosiest stuff in the world. Every toilet flush, every shower, every dishwasher cycle, every washing machine cycle, every sink use of our water causes the PEX to rattle and bump in the walls. I recommend doubling the number of fixing points that code or instructions call for. Any change in pressure (turning on and off of any value in the system) causes our PEX to be very noisy. I'm sure a better job of affixing the tubes to studs and joists would have solved this, but I wasn't the builder and someone somewhere along the line didn't do a good enough job of securing all the tubing. Word to the wise.

Many people struggle with long-form writing, such as a book, because they haven't outlined things. As much as we all hated to do it in school, the outline is a powerful tool to keep things on track. Many feel it restricts their creativity. I disagree. An outline doesn't determine your style or your syntax. It's a guide. But, more importantly, an outline is a framework in which your creativity can roam around. In my experience, most people who object to an outline for long-form writing don't have a clear vision for what the final outcome is to be. Are there examples of people who write great books without an outline? Sure. But, for most people, we need an outline. It also helps you out of those times when your brain is processing other things in your life or other writing projects. If I'm inundated, I find an outline can allow me to shut out other things and return to a more clear mental place for that writing.

Secondly, and specific to an approach to dealing with writer's block, is the wonder of stream-of-conscious writing. My experience is that many people who attempt to write don't want to go through an iterative process of writing, writing again, rewriting again, and then rewriting yet again. I believe most people try to compose what they feel is a final product upon first draft. I feel that's crazy and often retards the writing process. Do you want to be 80% there on first draft? I think that would be an excellent goal that your first draft of a long-form piece is 80% of what the final form is with 20% of it in rewriting and editing. So, the self-applied pressure of thinking the writing needs to be put down in final form can cause a metal paralysis of a kind. Just get something down, as has been written already. One fun and intriguing exercise to get something flowing out of you is stream-of-conscious writing. For those who may not be familiar with this idea, it is simply stringing together words, phrases and sentences that may not even be syntactically accurate and often appear to be non-sequitur. Some would call it gibberish. Others call the output nonsensical. What you write may not be incorporated in your working text at all. But, you allow your brain to spew out thought streams and you simply take dictation. You're not thinking about if any of the thoughts are relevant to your text or even coherent or progress in any way. I use the metaphor "puking on the table" to describe this idea. You simply expel thoughts and your hand writes or types them out. This technique is enhanced if you are a fast typist. But the actual getting down of the stream of thought is the therapeutic part of it and has always worked for me to get past something that holds me back in writing. Besides, if you are writing fiction that contains character dialog, it is excellent practice because many of us actually speak this way and the technique helps us to write a bit more like we speak, which is good for believable dialog.

"Stream of Consciousness is a type of writing that originated with the works of psychologist William James (Brother of Novelist Emeritus Henry James). Basically, its purpose is to emulate the passage of thought through your mind without any inhibitors. For that reason, sentences become longer, less organized and more sporadic in style. Its lack of structure is not for everybody, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any order. Stream of consciousness permits deeper patterns of order to emerge, ones based on the genuine movement of information in your brain. It also permits writers to simulate different forms of consciousness, such as dreams, comas, drug use and hallucinatory seances."

I think the question is too context based to be answered universally. We all live in different places all over the world and our survival needs are different based on each context.

However, I believe in all survival contexts, the tools we use have to be versatile and perform as many tasks as possible. Therefore, I believe the best survival "weapon" is a proven bush knife. I'm a fan of both Morakniv and Ontario Knife Company products. As has been pointed out, a knife can be transformed into more than one kind of weapon and it will perform multiple functions in a survival scenario, including defending oneself against predators. Keep in mind, in a defense situation without a firearm, you are not going to come away unscathed. So, the objective is to ... survive. I'd much rather have a trusted knife than a machete or kukri. Though the latter is a formidable alternative and can bridge the gap between machete and large knife. But to me, the machete and kukri are too heavy and bulky. I'm convinced that if you put two equally skilled knife fighters in a room and gave one a machete and one a puukko and had them go at it, the puukko wielder would survive. Once the two engaged in close hand-to-hand, the machete is less effective and the puukko could be making many slashes and stabs all while holding onto the other combatant who will then bleed out having only struck the puukko wielder one or two times. I don't know that the scenario is much different if the attacker is an animal. Yes, the mountain lion is going to cut me up pretty badly; but, I'd rather have multiple opportunities to stab and slash than one chance at a swinging or chopping motion to kill the mountain lion that is now on top of me. Yes, a firearm is a good weapon for self defense. It's pretty hard to beat when an attack is imminent. However, it really only does one thing and is heavy, expensive, requires maintenance and practice to be able to wield it well. Assuming we're not talking about firearms because we need versatile tools, I'll choose a trustworthy bush knife.

A friend and I went for a week of backpacking in the Wind River Range in western Wyoming. Amazing trip and amazing views. Here is a photo of where we sat to eat lunch during one of our a day hikes. One of many favorite places.